An ever-increasing global population continues to fuel a plethora of sustainability concerns including sufficient and affordable access to protein sources for both feed animals and human consumption, particularly in developing nations. Additionally, concerns relating to climate change and fossil fuel consumption continue to drive innovators to develop and improve both biofuel sources and efficiency.
While marine protein sources are often utilized in feeds due to their desirable nutritional profile and enhanced palatability, high production costs lead to an increased demand for alternatives. However, many plant species are unsuitable alternatives due to their inferior amino acid profile and/or high fiber content. Furthermore, many practices for extracting protein from alternative protein sources yield products with protein integrity, solubility, and/or dispersibility characteristics that are unsuitable for many plant and animal feed applications. Additionally, water conservation concerns—particularly in equatorial and arid regions—are a driving factor in identifying suitable alternative species for the production of protein concentrates and/or fuel feed stocks.